How Ya Doin'?
How Ya Doin'? is a song by Little Mix which serves as their fourth single and appears as the 9th track on their debut album, DNA. It features American rapper Missy Elliott. Background Little Mix aspired to release "How Ya Doin'?" as the album's fourth single, but with a different marketing strategy to that of the previous single's release. In an interview with Robert Copsey of Digital Spy, Jade Thirlwall mentioned, "It was tricky with 'Change Your Life' because a lot of fans already had it from the album, it's hard to push songs that have been available to buy for months already, where as 'How Ya Doin'?' is a bit different." The group were keen on the track featuring a guest appearance from another recording artist. Jesy Nelson told Jocelyn Vena of MTV News, "We just wanted to change it up a little bit and make it more funky and, yeah, just give something a little bit different." She added, "And plus we've never had a feature on any of our singles." An opportunity to have American rapper Missy Elliott feature on "How Ya Doin'?" then arose, which Little Mix pushed for. Speaking to Clemmie Moodie of the Daily Mirror, Nelson said, "As soon as we thought there might be a chance Elliott would appear on the track we did literally everything we could to make sure it happened." A collaboration between the group and Elliott was then arranged by Little Mix's A&R team. Despite featuring on the group's song, Elliott never met up with Little Mix for the collaboration. Instead, the rapper recorded and co-wrote her verse in the United States in 2013. Elliott is considered an idol for Little Mix and her feature on the song was met with shock and disbelief from the group. Media outlets were also suprised by the feature, some noting Elliott's support of Misha B, Little Mix's fellow contestant, during their season on The X Factor, as reasoning. "How Ya Doin'?" was chosen as a single to sonically depict the group's old school music roots, who they were inspired by and a change in sound from their previous singles. Little Mix consider the song as "a brilliant single that makes you want to dance." The single version of "How Ya Doin'?" premiered on Capital FM on 27 March 2013. Following the premiere, the version was met with universal praise from the group's fans who took to Twitter, deeming the song as "perfection". The single's digital release date was pushed back and brought forward on numerous occasions. Of which included proposed dates of 14 April, 17 April, 5 May, and 6 May. It was, however, released on 15 April instead. Critical Reception Digital Spy's Robert Copsey awarded "How Ya Doin'?" four out of five stars, opining that Little Mix "have finally settled into their groove". Copsey added, "And what better way to lead the pack than by sampling a De La Soul track and bagging a guest spot from legend of the field Missy Elliott for their latest effort?" The song received three out of five stars from Amy Sciaretto of PopCrush, who wrote, "It's not as saccharine or as safe as their former fellow 'X Factor' alums One Direction, but then again, Little Mix aren't looking to satiate really young teenagers with their tracks." Sciaretto went on to say, "There's more 'oomph' and bumping and grinding that takes place in their songs, since they are reaching out to an older audience." She deemed the group's harmonies "flawless" and their vocal performance a better one than their girl group contemporary, the Spice Girls. Sciaretto felt that Little Mix and Missy Elliott balance each other out on the song and concluded, "The track has its heels planted in several decades, but thankfully, the ladies and their voices keep tight control over the song so it doesn't drift and become unlistenable." 4Music's Louisa Walker called the song "catchy" and praised its "infectious" chrorus. Entertainment Wise's Alicia Adejobi positively reviewed the track, describing it as "edgy" and "catchy". Adejobi also called the collaboration with Elliott, "the perfect boost Mix need to get noticed". A writer for Redbrick felt that "How Ya Doin'?" was a highlight on DNA and "one of the most creative lovesongs that have been released recently." Jon Hornbuckle of So So Gay deemed the song as "a sassy and funky number", adding, "With a 2012 Spice Girls album-track vibe throughout, it will make this a favourite for any girl group enthusiast." Nicky Diaz from The Miami Hurricane and John Meagher of the Irish Independent listed "How Ya Doin'?" as highlights on DNA. Fiona Shepherd from The Scotsman described the song as "a bright, bouncy pop number which suits Mix's DayGlo image". Shepherd also praised the track's "infectious b-girl flavour" and "lyrical kiss-off". Kate Lucey of Sugar deemed "How Ya Doin'?" as "a big track" and "awesome 'getting-ready-to-go-out' music". Vicky Newman from the Shields Gazette praised the group's harmonies and the funk feel on the track, and highlighted it as a favourite on DNA and as a song "you can't help but tap your feet to". Live Performances Little Mix performed the 'How Ya Doin'?' on the Alan Carr: Chatty Man show on 3 May, and on Sunday Brunch on 5 May 2013. On 9 May 2013, they performed the song on Daybreak. They also sang the song on their MTV Live session, and on French television program, Le Grand Journal. Credits and Personnel ;Recording and mixing *Recorded at The Sample Factory, London, England; mixed at Ninja Beat Club, Atlanta, GA. ;Sampling *Contains elements from the composition "Help Is on the Way", written by James Carter. *Contains elements from the composition "Name and Number", written by Julian Brookhouse, Miguel Drummond, Ben Volpeliere-Pierrot and Nicholas Thorp ;Personnel * Songwriting – Darren Lewis, Iylola Babalola, Shaznay Lewis, Perrie Edwards, Jesy Nelson, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jade Thirlwall, James Carter, Glenn Skinner, Ben Volpeliere-Pierrot, Nicholas Thorp, Julian Brookhouse, Miguel Drummond, Missy Elliott * Production – Future Cut *Guitars – Darren Lweis, Jacob Quistgaard *Bass – Michael Hamilton *Keys – Darren Lewis *Drums – Iyola Babalola *Other instrumentation – Darren Lewis *Mixing – Phil Tan *Mastering – Tom Coyne Music Video The shoot was set in East London in early March of 2013. Little Mix released a few teasers of the video and did a countdown for the release date. The girls described the video as "really colorful, really old school" with "a lot of dancing". The video was posted on April 4, 2013 on their official VEVO account. It shows the girls in different colorful sets and clothes while dancing and singing to the song. Missy Elliott is later shown in an orange outfit studded with diamonds while performing her rap verses via a telephone before teasingly cutting the phone's cord. Chart Performance Lyrics Videos Little Mix - How Ya Doin'? ft. Missy Elliott|''How Ya Doin'?: Official Music Video'' How Ya Doin? (Behind The Scenes)|''How Ya Doin'?: Behind the Scenes'' Little Mix - Track By Track - How Ya Doin'?|''Track by Track: How Ya Doin'?'' Gallery how ya doin 1.png how ya doin 2.jpg how ya doin 3.jpg how ya doin 4.png how ya doin 5.png how ya doin 6.jpg how ya doin 7.jpg how ya doin 8.jpg How Ya doin.jpg how Ya doin'.jpg how Ya.jpg How-Ya-Doin-little-mix-34150774-200-238.jpg Images4.jpg Jarrie.jpg Little-Mix-620x350.png tumblr_mkqgk88aTv1r8pk2do1_250.gif tumblr_inline_mlgksw7y1a1r4g3gk.jpg little-mix 1.jpg Little-Mix-How-Ya-Doin-ft.-Missy-Elliott-05.jpg th_sJsQsaxxhh1N1ARJDJ1WaVItWMQSXzEq.jpeg little-mix.jpg tumblr_mkq9yntkvY1s8tz4po3_250.gif tumblr_mksh2nqPcV1s3a021o1_500.gif tumblr_mlekmlIL471ruqrcho1_500_large.gif Category:Songs Category:Singles Category:DNA Songs Category:DNA Standard Edition Songs